Good beginner kite

[vtkiter]

I have taken my first of lessons and am beginning to look for good used kites and a board. I am about 190, and will be kiting in the Jacksonville, Fl area. My trainer said about a 16 m and a 12 M kite and a 145 CM board. What are some good one to look out for on the "used" list? Are there any other good list besides ikitesurf and kiteforum?

Thanks,
Bill

[FredBGG]

Hi

The best beginner kites for ease of use are the Peter Lynn Bombas.
They are super stable, easy to relaunch, easy self launch, easy self landing, never overfly and deliver smooth power.
I've seen people struggle with a Lei for days and then get going in no time with a Bomba.

For your size I would recommend a Bomba 17 or 20

You could also go for the Peter Lynn Venom 19.
The Venom 19 is faster than a Bomba, but can overfly.
The Venom is also faster in low wind. This could be a plus if your area has low wind.

Also get a big board for learning. I mean something around 175 to 185 cm. It will help tremendously for your size.

The best thing about these kites is that when you are trying to learn how to get up in the water you can just park them above your head and they will just sit there while you deal with your board and the waves.

Cheers

Fred

[Enrico1967]

Anoter kite I would suggest is the Naish Boxer.
I started with that and I can tell you it is very easy to fly.
Be aware that the Boxer II can be upgraded to 5th line only by changing the bar, while the Boxer III was already sold with thae 5th line.
For example you can buy the boxer II in one size and the Boxer III in the other size and you will be always using the 5 line bar.

I do not kow which kind of wind you have but the big board is very helpfull only if the power is not enough. I borrowed from a friend a big board because my 141 cm is not enough but only when the power is not very much. Otherwise it is not really needed. Of course it is more difficult nut in a day or two you learn how to go even with a small board.
To be more precise: apart the low wind condition (10-12 knots), you would not be using the big board after you learn how to do go with a smaller board. Do not invest a lot on the big board. You would appreciate the big board for about a week and after you would like to try the smaller one.....

Ps I am not more than a beginner and I am telling you what I see from the beginner point of view.

cheers
Enrico

[tobas]

I agree that you should choose a Peter Lynn Kite. But maybe you should go for a 16 and definitely not for a bigger board than 150 twintip
My 50cent / TOBAS

[Germwise]

Vkiter,

While the bombas, and venoms may be very nice kites, they are not what people refer to as LEI or leading edge inflatable and do not float on the water. A lot of experienced riders are able to relaunch these kites.

HOWEVER

As a noob you will be dropping your kite a lot, you will probably have to do self rescue a couple of times in this case you would probably want a kite that would float on the water, be easy to relanch and one you could use as a flotation device in a self rescue.

The real choice you have to make is this... Bow kite vs tradicional C kite. Up until 2005 models, all kites were traditional C kites. These kites are still very nice kites with pretty good safety features. However in the 2006 models, a new bow kite has been developed. It is flatter and has a few different flying characteristics and more complicated bars. However these kites usually offer much bigger wind range (meaning you can use the same kite for much greater wind span) and offer complete depower which is a very nice safety feature.

Right now the only bow kite in production is the cabrinha crossbow but it is 1600 bucks. Windwing has their rapture comming out for I believe around 800. Other companies are also comming out with their versions.

However it will probably be another 2 months before you can have one in your hand and if you get used to a bow kite you will not really be able to fly a c shaped kite. If you start on a c you will get used to bows very quickly and learn to appreciate them.

I just started a c ouple months back. I'm still practicing and trying to master my technique. Here is what I did and what I recommend you do.

Because of Bow kites being out, C kites are extremely cheap. You can buy a used one like I did or go for a new one. Brands are mostly preference but check the reviews at http://www.kite-surf.com to check how each kite performed.

I fly a 2004 cabrinha C02 with recon (what I believe to be an awesome safety system. But there is also 5th line safety systems and you can always get an older 4 line kite.

When looking at a kite though look at everything. Its the little things in a kite that can make it nice. For example I've seen the bags for best kites and they are small and thin. While Best kites seem to get great reviews and from having flown one I can tell you they are nice kites. I really enjoy having my cabrinha kite with its separate bar bag, backpack that extends to fit the kite with struts inflated, extra pocket for pump ETC.

Check out the classifieds here. In http://www.chicagokitesurfing.com

Also check out ebay and the following kite sites.

http://www.bestkiteboarding.com

http://www.kitehigh.com


-Marcelo

[72kiteboarder]

The Airush Flow is a very good beginner to intermediate kite that will allow you to grow without the need to up-grade your kites. They are also on sale for 45% off right now at http://www.prokitesurf.com

[Wetstuff]

........and my 2cents is none/all of the above. Rather, I'd suggest, as there are certainly plenty of kites around JAX; you either buy a used kite from the instructor who's giving the lessons or any of the other locals at your local launch. If you were here, there'd be a selection of maybe 10 kites to fit your weight in our local crew.

Aside from being able to see/touch/smell it (I once sold a 12M kite to a guy 8,000mi away for $188. who e-wailed like a paid mourner at an arab funeral...) you'd make a friend who'd tune it and always keep an eye on you. Ebay. and the like, are places to buy what you: already know.

There's even a loyal Peter Lynn flyer in JAX (sorry forgot his name...) who'd be able to give you the royal tour of these kites.


Jim

[Xtream]

Really good beginer kite that you will never outgrow. Windwing Rage 2 or from the looks and info I have been hearing the new Rapture 2 is an excellant beginner kite. What made the difference for me was the SAFE-System and easy relaunch. I get out at times before anyone is out I self launch my Rage 2 using the CC-Bar sheet out and the kite the sits on the water. I hook in and sheet in and i'm off and riding, to land I sheet out depower the kite unhook, hook the loop into my stainless steel hook and walk out to the kite and bring it in. No sand bags, no kite dragging on reeds. I have launched and landed in 10 -30 mph winds using this method with my Windwing Rage 2 (8-12-17 M) with the CC- Bar 50CM

[wujam]

I'm a newb... started this spring... only flown these Rage IIs and Best Yargas a bit during lessons. Weigh about 195 lbs like youl, have the R2 12 & 17. To back up what Xstream said... I've found the R2s have done the trick for me... I'm riding upwind a bit now and considering starting on small jumps... There are some used R2s now on the market with the SAFE bridles... unless you want to spend the cash for new or even the interesting and inexpensive Rap 2s.

I recently discovered that the range on these R2 C kites are huge, at least for someone my weight. I basically can manage with the 2 kites from about 12 knots to 30 knots, by rerigging between the fixed attachments and the SAFE bridles. Only slight negative is that playing around with bridles can be a bit technical for a newb... but it's well worth it if you want the extra range and depower. I can also fly with either 24m or 30m lines as another option.

The 12m will mostly be my winter kite. I used it principally as my trainer... and only ride it on water when it's 20 knots or above.

For a newb flying these kites, suggest you start with the SAFE and extra depower... get used to flying kites, then switch to fixed if you need the extra pull.

[dimach]

While the bombas, and venoms may be very nice kites, they are not what people refer to as LEI or leading edge inflatable and do not float on the water. A lot of experienced riders are able to relaunch these kites.

HOWEVER

As a noob you will be dropping your kite a lot, you will probably have to do self rescue a couple of times in this case you would probably want a kite that would float on the water, be easy to relanch and one you could use as a flotation device in a self rescue.

LEI vs foil talk ?
Germwise, did you fly PL bomba ? did you ever try to relanch it ?

PL bomba will float on water for more than enough time for easily relanch. In most cases you just have to pull middle lines. It is on magnitude easier to learn with PL kites compared to LEI. Including jumps. The kites hardly ever fall into water, only if you dive it there. So you WILL NOT be dropping you kite a lot.

Please, just try it before posting comments.

P.S. I was learning with LEI kites, and did get on the water. I was learning jumps with Bomba 13 and it is so much easier. I really regret that I didn't get Bomba from the very beginning.